The percentage of Victorian passengers travelling with a valid ticket on metropolitan trains, trams and V/Line services is at an all-time high.
Announcing the latest fare compliance figures, Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan said Public Transport Victoria’s (PTV) May 2016 Fare Compliance Survey shows more Victorians are opting to travel the right way.
A record high of 97.7 per cent of metropolitan train users and 95.3 per cent of tram users travelled with a valid ticket.
The overall percentage of metropolitan passengers travelling with a valid ticket on trains, trams and buses was the second highest since the survey began in 2005, at 95.9 per cent.
Positive results were also recorded in regional Victoria, with a record high of 95.7 per cent of V/Line train passengers travelling with a valid ticket.
The biggest improvement in regional Victoria was on the Traralgon line, up 3.3 per cent on October 2015. The Bendigo line also improved – up 1.3 per cent – with the Geelong and Ballarat lines relatively stable, up 0.6 per cent for Geelong and down 0.4 per cent on the Ballarat line.
The encouraging figures come as the Andrews Labor Government gets on with reforming Victoria’s fare enforcement system to make it simpler, fairer and more effective for all passengers.
The new system which begins 1 January 2017 will abolish on-the-spot penalty fares and create a single infringement system that makes it easier for Victorians to do the right thing.
Over the past two years, greater fare compliance has almost halved the revenue lost from $58 million in 2013-14 to $30.9 million in 2015-16. This ensures more money is available to invest in improving Victoria's public transport system.
The most common reasons for fare evading were concession fare breaches on metropolitan buses (1.9 per cent) and having ‘insufficient balance’ on a regional train (1.8 per cent).
Quotes attributable to Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan
“We’re making fares simpler, fairer and less confusing by making it easier for people to do the right thing, while still targeting those who deliberately fare evade.”
“These latest figures show that more Victorians are choosing to travel with a valid ticket, and we’re working to make their daily commute even better.”
“Passengers are already benefiting from quicker online top ups and faster readers at stations across the network.”
Reviewed 19 August 2020